I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.

The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch atCmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in awrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the fri st and lsat ltteer bein the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raedit wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed erveylteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Amzanig huh? yaeh and Iawlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Of course, if you cannot read this you may need the gift of interpretation :)

12 Excerpts from this years bloggings:19 Jan 2005 The purpose of pain
Pain is a somewhat relative phenomena ... for someone in a wheelchair pain is quite different from someone who has lost a loved one - but pain is pain nonetheless and our challenge is to find a way to let pain achieve its purpose in our lives.

4 Feb 2005 Religious Pollution
Do 'religious people' make you angry? You know those people who seem to love the rules but don't seem to love people. I must confess that they do make me angry.

10 Mar 2005 Identity
It is a matter of identity. Many in the church today refer to themselves as 'just a sinner saved by grace'. I wonder if by saying these things we have trained ourselves to identify as sinners and not new spiritual creations.

29 Apr 2005 Beauty for AshesDon't you love happy endings? Do you believe in a happy ending for yourself? I am sure that Job never thought the day would come … perhaps you are in a similar situation. I have seen many of my trials turn into blessings.

21 May 2005 Confessions of a Charismatic Fundamentalist
The events of these years have convinced me that the letter kills but the Spirit gives life. I have learned that there is a difference in being right and righteous … one can have absolute truth about an issue but be absolutely wrong in their application of that truth if they are not truly led by God’s Spirit.

22 Jun 2005 Perspective
We can, in the same way, be disappointed with God when he does not meet our expectations. We often imagine that he will do something in one manner and he acts in a way contrary to our thinking … and we are disappointed.

2 Jul 2005 Choosing Joy
Spurgeon reminds us that even in death God is present ... in the fiery furnace God is there. For me, worship has been the key to having joy and experiencing God's presence.

10 Jul 2005 Citizenship
Being a citizen of heaven is a reminder that we, who are in Christ, live in, and are under the government of, a different kingdom. Our world is an inner realm ... an eternal world where motive, intent and meaning are important.

06 Sep 2005 Katrina and that River in EgyptWe often miss this step when we read Job's story. The first two chapters of are basically ones of denial. Job's reactions are very much entrenched in numbness.

29 Oct 2005 Religious AnswersEver read something in the bible, embrace it and regurgitate it to someone? Sure you have. I wonder if it is endemic of our need to have an answer when we don’t have a clue.

28 Nov 2005 Unplowed Ground
Our hearts, like the soil, can be hard, shallow and strangled. Trials, tests, hardships and suffering often reveal these aspects of our hearts. A trial will surface the person that we are on the inside ... what we really believe.

12 Dec 2005 Disappointment
The older I get the more I can resonate with Paul in a small way. Paul accepted sufferings not only as a part of life but also as God’s plan to refine him in weakness. God seemed to have brought him to a place where he embraced every aspect of life did not lose hope when it was as he expected it to be.

I have been home sick most of this week and have had the time to do a bit of blog surfing. Found one where the blogger opined about the busy-ness of the Advent season. I commented as follows:

Busy-ness vs Being-ness ... it took a long time to understand that it was okay for me to just 'be' without doing. It was (and still is) hard because so much of my worth/identity was/is wrapped up in what I did/do. I have found that when doing comes out of being it feels more like what Jesus said about living water coming from our innermost being. This kind of doing refreshes the soul rather than draining it.

The scripture I reference in my comment is from John 7:38 and reads:

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

Earlier in John's gospel (6:28-29) Jesus answered this question:

"What must we do to do the works God requires?"

by saying:

"The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." I think that these scriptures are enlightening. If we equate doing the works of God to believing in Jesus (hence being our Heavenly Father's child) then we conclude that these works will flow out of us in away that does not drain us spiritually but actually refreshes us. A similar concept is found in Proverbs 11:25:

"The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered."

Refreshing and life comes when our doing is the result our being God's child. If you find yourself weary it may be because your busy-ness is not coming from being-ness.

about bob

I am married, have two children and two grandchildren. I have worked as a soldier, technician, software designer and a pastor. I am now retired. My purpose in writing here is to share devotional thoughts from the scriptures. Check out the menu and icons above for more info.